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It has been a long time since I posted a new blog. I mentioned in my previous blog that I am currently occupied with writing a book. I also mentioned that to write I am spending time in a wonderfully serene wilderness setting. There is no television or Internet or even phone reception. This is conducive not only to writing a book, but also to connecting with The Source of inspiration. It is NOT, however, conducive to the ability to jump online and post blogs! Today I took a quick trip into a Starbucks to do many things on the Internet. I wasn’t sure if I would take the time to write another blog, but as I began to pack up the computer and leave, an inner nudge urged me to do so.

This inner nudge examples something occurring with greater regularity in the past 4 weeks since beginning my writing retreat. I hear, sense or receive (whatever word best describes it) direction not derived from my own mind alone. I am certain this kind of direction is a constant no matter where we are, it is just that now living mostly in total silence renders me to more acute hearing of this direction. I have set the intention (because I have received the direction to do so) to not question or ignore any of it. I am now – without hesitation – simply saying, “Ok, if You say so!” This has become a joyful way to live. I never know what lies around the bend and I am learning to LOVE IT THAT WAY! Life is more of an adventure – like opening gifts many times a day totally pleased and surprised by what is contained in the package. No matter what the urge leads me to, the message of it is always essentially the same. The Source of the message is from the Higher Power – Spirit/God. The messenger changes, but the Source and the message is a constant. The message from The Source is basically saying, “I am here. I am leading you and all is well.”

A few days ago, I was talking to someone about something that had happened. Their response was to express that they saw it as a meaningful event. What they actually said was, “It’s must be a sign!” Immediately I heard/felt something within. It felt as one would with a gentle little voice was whispering in your ear something sweet. It said, “Everything is a sign!” I did not share this with the person to whom I was talking. They did ask me, however, what I was suddenly thinking. “Nothing”, I said. “I’m just listening.” They pointed out that a smile had just come to my face and I looked as if I had drifted somewhere else.

I began to look at everything as a sign. I first saw 2 very little baby white tail bunnies peeking out from under some brush. My attention then went to a bird that was continually flying into a bush with a mouthful of twigs and grass and then flying back out to retrieve more. Obviously it was building a nest for the young that would soon arrive. I noticed a single iris that had bloomed among trees and shrubbery. “Every thing is a sign.” I kept saying this as I pondered the things that I vividly but randomly noticed. I was putting the key in my cottage door when it occurred to me I was willing to see every thing as a sign, but I did not know the intended meaning of them. It then occurred to me. Being that the signs were from Spirit/God, the meaning of them must not come out of my imagination or mind. It must be placed in my mind by The Source of the sign. How many times do we feel like something that occurred was more meaningful than it appeared on the surface? We experience the inner feeling that it is meant to tell us something and then weimmediately go on to try to figure it out.

I now realized that I was actually only led to believe that everything is a sign from God. I was only led to believe that God was at work through all things at all times. I was not led to then interpret them in my own mind alone. I knew in that moment that – not only is everything a sign – but I am to ask for it’s meaning. The meaning would also come from the same Source as the sign itself. I also knew that what was more important than the immediate interpretation of the sign, was the joy of simply believing I was always being guided. It was the joy of looking for the signs. The interpretation would come at the right time and in the right way that I would understand.

I felt good about this revelation. I put down my things and said “Thank you, God. This is wonderful. I feel like it’s a brand new life!” And then………..it hit me. I reflected in a flash on newly born little bunnies, a new blooming iris and nest preparation for birds soon to come to life. The gentle soft voice that whispered in my ear those words, “Every thing is a sign!”, returned. And it said…….”You got it, dear! New life. I am always renewing life.”

And so it is. Until my next visit to a coffee shop in civilization…….. may your awareness be fully receptive to “the signs”.

We place a great deal of value in the amount of things we get done in a day. We value how successful we are at getting all those items on our personal check list crossed off and completed. Being productive is a very good thing. Planning our day and those tasks which require completion in order to meet our deadlines or achieve a goal, is sensible. There are days when – no matter how busy – it seems as if we are on a roll and everything gets accomplished with relative ease. There are other days and times when interruptions or glitches impede our progress. And there are times when certain plans we have made for the day are met with obstacles at every turn. We can be so focused on “having” to go the way of our well-thought out plan that glitches and obstacles cause us great discontent and permeates our mood and outlook. These emotions create stress in our bodies and block our mind’s ability to create solutions.

Because we so value the accomplishment of the tasks we’ve set for ourselves, we do not place a great deal of value on a quiet pause during our activities. We think pausing would only put us farther behind. Especially when we feel we are running behind or struggling to successfully achieve our task, our reticence to take a pause is very strong. We fear falling short, messing things up and not reaching our goals. Thus, pausing a moment – is unacceptable in our mind. We fear failure if we do not keep our focus and our steady pace. We fear the label of “lazy” and are terrified of viewing ourselves as at the end of the day as a failure. I know one thing I can find myself doing when working on a particular project that seems like it is not flowing well. I often feel I must walk away from it for a moment. However, because there are always other things on my list to do, I do not really “pause”. I tend to fill my break from the project currently underway by tackling another one. This is NOT a true “pause”.

Taking a pause when one feels stress setting in or when it seems that things are not falling into place is priceless. It is not being lazy. It is being productive. The “pause” that I speak of is one in which we walk away from our activity in order to be refilled and or be re-directed. When we work only from our conscious mind we can lose sight of a better way or become blocked in moving forward peacefully because our mind’s voice is talking to us in a critical/fearful manner. No one works well under pressure that frightens us.

The pause that benefits us is one where we cease all activity and become still. It can be a pause of only 5 minutes. When we give even just 5 minutes to the intention of seeing something differently or letting go of our tension, it is often truly amazing how everything flows easily with renewed inspiration or vitality when we return to it. Taking a pause in the middle of our day’s activities to breathe and surrender to the inner peace which lives within is a very wise regular practice. Instead of pushing forward when we are tiring or blocked or frustrated, we accomplish much more (with even better results) if we take a pause. The pause is one where we still our mind. We decide to not think for a few minutes about all there is to yet do. We close our eyes, take a breath and surrender our stress and all our mind’s thoughts about everything. We surrender all we think we know and all we think we do not know. We simply let go and allow the mind and guidance of our wise Spirit – rather than our frantic mind to lead us forward.

During the pause we may not be aware of any particular message, but when we return to our work we will quite likely realize we do so from a new and more peaceful – even more intelligent – perspective. We may suddenly see a new and better way of proceeding. We may peacefully know that it’s best for us to wait until later to pursue our current project. We may follow the same plan we originally set for ourselves, but now it flows because we are not constricted with anxiety or fatigue.

For me this pause is a prayer. It is a moment spent saying to Spirit/God within me that I am aware I am tense, frustrated or blocked. I ask for assistance in proceeding according to the plan that is Spirit/God’s way. I ask for help in letting go of all the ideas I hold about it so I can be guided by my highest knowledge. In short, when I realize that my own mind alone is become tryannical………..I stop and ask to be saved from the tyranny. I surrender it all to Spirit/God. Spirit does not hold any idea of varying level of importance for that which I ask assistance: my state of inner peace while cleaning a closet is as important as is my peace in writing the next chapter of my book. The solution to my computer glitch is as important as is my solution to an urgent family issue presenting itself to me. The importance of any circumstance or situation is that I learn to do so in peace. And peace comes only from my remembering that I do nothing alone. There is a power greater than my own mind that is waiting for my simple invitation. Once the invitation is delivered, it rushes to my aid. Love waits only for this invitation. Once received it comes in and makes all things right.

The “pause” is the time taken to send the invitation. Pause………………invite………….wait for the inevitable positive RSVP. Pause is the invitation for peace to prevail – NOW – where peace was previously invisible. In every day, in all your busy schedule, without fail………….remember to pause. Something we can depend upon is always waiting for us to invite It to work alongside us. Value the pause – before and during – the work that is yours to do. If you are one that works off a “to do” list, add the word “pause” to it after every few items. Nothing else on the list is more valuable.

I am currently working on the writing of my first book. To give it a real jump-start, I have gone to a remote wilderness retreat in the mountains. I have a cottage poised on the side of a hill that overlooks valleys and views of mountains. There is no Internet and no television. There is not even cell phone reception unless I walk to an area where a signal can sometimes be received. It’s beautiful. It’s serene. It is very quiet.

I choose this space, in part, to get away from distractions. But it is less that I am running away from things than I am running TO myself and the voice of Spirit/God. Already – only 6 days into a 6 week stay, the benefits of hearing that voice have been numerous. My blogs are not usually of a personal nature, but I have decided this one will be. The blogs will be less frequent for the next weeks for several reasons. First: I have to travel away from the retreat to a WiFi service in a coffee shop. And secondly: The writing of the book is a priority now. But I came to write this blog today because I wanted to share something about miracles. I will use a personal example of my main point on miracles which occurred just a couple of days ago.

I believe that miracles are natural events of life. Sometimes we think of them as grand events – ones worthy of front page headline news. although I think it would be wonderfulif there was more attention given on our news broadcasts for the everyday miraculous, it is rare. What good stories do get coverage are reserved for the events people will drop their jaws over. The times that a single human lifts a car off someone injured beneath or a homeless person wins the lottery, etc. Of course, I do not view any unexpected good event (miracle) as less or more jaw-dropping than another, but most watching the news do not feel awe as readily as me.

However, miracles are happening in everyone’s life ALL the time, ALL day long. Some of them we notice. Many we do not. Some we notice, but take for granted. For example, the Earth is a ball of matter hanging out here in space and we walk, stand and move all over it without falling off! THAT is miraculous! Sure, it is explained as gravity, but gravity itself is a miracle! Our skin and cells are constantly replenishing. Our hearts beat, our blood flows and lungs take in life-sustaining oxygen without our having to consciously make it happen. Our eyes – these little orbs that sit in our heads – reflect back the world to us. I can go on and on, of course. And I as I sit out here in the middle of raw nature, I am even more mindful of the miraculousness of life. The message of today’s blog is to become more expectant and mindful of miracles occurring in your life all the time. The more you notice them, it seems the faster and more abundantly they happen.

So here is my own recent miracle story which I want to share. I was walking back to my retreat cottage after having stood outdoors talking with a member of the staff of this center. Our conversation ended up revolving around some opportunities where I may serve their mission using nature as a spiritual teaching for those who would like to attend events on the subject. On my walk back I was very uplifted and joyful. It feels as if so many opportunities to fulfill my Life’s purpose are appearing right now. Then my little “chatter mind” began to do its thing. “How can I get to it all?” “What do I choose to focus on first?” “This and that needs to change to fully move into everything.” You know what I mean. It’s that kill-joy voice that tries to keep us from getting “too” excited or joyful. So I caught it before it went further. I decided to begin reciting my FAVORITE saying that reminds me of what I want my life to be: “I am a feather on the breath of God. I am a feather on the breath of God.” I began the walk up the hill to where I am staying saying this out loud when…………… a little white dainty feather flew down from a pine tree, floated in front of me and began to slowly circle in front of my face! I stopped in awe! It so gracefully moved in this circle a couple of times and then moved forward in the direction I had been walking. I knew it was no accident. It was a miracle from God and it was telling me “YES”……you keep saying it.” It was telling me that my life IS – indeed – taking me where I am to go and I can just float upon it. So I decided to follow this feather wherever it went and see where it took me. At the moment I decided this, it softly landed on the ground in front of me. The fringes, around its edges rippled in the breeze but it did not rise up to float again. I waited and then I knew – without any doubt – the message was to know that the breath of God had brought me here. I was here, on this land, in this wilderness and I was to not think ahead or behind or elsewhere. I am meant to really “be” here – for now. Later the breath of Spirit/God will lift me up and take me elsewhere. But for now, I am to be here.

This was a miracle. I know it. There is no accident or coincidence about it. Life is so exciting when we know that miracles are just the will of Spirit/God coming through events which catch our attention and provide direction, inspiration, comfort, faith.

Until I write again…………go forward lightly so that the breath of Spirit can lift you up and onward. And look for miracles. They are there and they are meant just for you.